U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Patterns& Trends
November 2011, NCJ 236018
Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008
Annual Rates for 2009 and 2010
Alexia Cooper and Erica L. Smith, BJS Statisticians
---------------------------------------------------
This file is text on without graphics and many of the
tables. a Zip archive of the tables in this report in
spreadsheet format (.cvs) and the full report including
tables and graphs in .pdf format are available from
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbse&sid=2223
This reports is one in s series. More recent editions
may be available. To view a list of all in the series go to
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=dcdetail&iid-31
This report contains a series of tables and figures that
describe homicide patterns and trends in the United States
from 1980 through 2008. It also includes overall homicide
rates for 2009 and 2010 (for which detailed data are not yet
available).
Data in this report are from the FBI's Supplementary Homicide
Reports (SHR), unless otherwise noted. The SHR Program of the
FBI collects yearly supplementary homicide data regarding
homicides committed in the United States. Statistics in this
report detail homicide trends by age, sex, and race,
including homicides of children under age 5 and of persons
age 65 or older. It examines the relationship between the
victim and the offender, particularly in cases of intimate
and family homicide. The report also examines multiple victim
and offender homicides, circumstances surrounding the
death, justifiable homicides, law enforcement officers
killed, homicides cleared, and homicide trends by city
size and weapon use.
These data may differ slightly from previously published
versions because of updates to the data file, changes to
the imputation methods used, and refinements in the analyses.
(See Methodology for more information on the imputation
methods used in this report.) In addition, analyses presented
here include data from 1980 through 2008 only. This
modification was made, in part, to reflect revisions in the
SHR in 1980.
The SHR are available at the National Archive of Criminal
Justice Data. Spreadsheets used to generate the figures in
this report are available on the BJS website.
Long term trends and patterns
In the last decade (since 2000) the homicide rate declined to
levels last seen in the mid-1960s
* The homicide rate doubled from the early 1960s to the late
1970s, increasing from 4.6 per 100,000 U.S. residents in 1962
to 9.7 per 100,000 by 1979 ( Figure 1). (See Methodology for
information on rate calculations.)
* In 1980 the rate peaked at 10.2 per 100,000 and
subsequently fell to 7.9 per 100,000 in 1984.
* The rate rose again in the late 1980s and early 1990s to
another peak in 1991 of 9.8 per 100,000.
* The homicide rate declined sharply from 9.3 homicides per
100,000 in 1992 to 4.8 homicides per 100,000 in 2010.
The number of homicides reached an all-time high of 24,703
homicides in 1991 then fell rapidly to 15,522 homicides by
1999
* The number of homicides increased steadily from the early
1950s until the mid-1970s ( Figure 2).
* Between 1999 and 2008, the number of homicides remained
relatively constant, ranging from a low of 15,552 homicides
in 1999 to a high of 17,030 homicides in 2006. These homicide
numbers were still below those reported in the 1970s, when
the number of reported homicides first rose above 20,000
(reaching 20,710 in 1974).
The demographic characteristics of homicide victims and
offenders were different from the characteristics of the
general population
Based on available data from 1980 to 2008--
* Blacks were disproportionately represented as both homicide
victims and offenders. The victimization rate for blacks
(27.8 per 100,000) was 6 times higher than the rate for
whites (4.5 per 100,000). The offending rate for blacks (34.4
per 100,000) was almost 8 times higher than the rate for
whites (4.5 per 100,000) (table 1).
* Males represented 77% of homicide victims and nearly 90% of
offenders. The victimization rate for males (11.6 per
100,000) was 3 times higher than the rate for females (3.4
per 100,000). The offending rate for males (15.1 per 100,000)
was almost 9 times higher than the rate for females (1.7 per
100,000).
* Approximately a third (34%) of murder victims and almost
half (49%) of the offenders were under age 25. For both
victims and offenders, the rate per 100,000 peaked in the 18
to 24 year-old age group at 17.1 victims per 100,000 and 29.3
offenders per 100,000.
Trends by age
Young adults had the highest homicide victimization and
offending rates
* Homicide victimization rates for teens and young adults
increased rapidly in the late 1980s and early 1990s, peaking
in 1993 at 12 homicides per 100,000 for teens and 24.8
homicides per 100,000 for young adults.
* The homicide victimization rate for children under age 14
was the lowest of all age groups, peaking in 1993 at a high
of 2.2 homicides per 100,000. By 2004, this rate had declined
to the lowest level recorded--1.4 homicides per 100,000--and
remained stable through 2008 at 1.5 homicides per 100,000
(Figure 3).
* The homicide victimization rate for teens (14 to 17 years
old)increased almost 150% from 4.9 homicides per 100,000 in
1985 to 12.0 homicides per 100,000 in 1993. Since 1993, the
victimization rate for teens has declined to 5.1 homicides
per 100,000.
* In 2008, young adults (18 to 24 years old) experienced the
highest homicide victimization rate (13.4 homicides per
100,000).
* In the early 1980s, 25 to 34 year-olds had the highest
homicide victimization rate--18.6 homicides per 100,000. By
2008, this rate had fallen to 10.7 homicides per 100,000, a
42% reduction.
* Homicide victimization rates for adults ages 35 to 49 and
50 or older have remained stable since 1999 at between 5.7
and 5.9 homicides per 100,000 for adults ages 35 to 49 and
between 2.5 and 2.7 homicides per 100,000 for adults ages 50
or older.
Homicide offending rates followed a pattern similar to
victimization rates
* The offending rates for teens (14 to 17 years old) and
young adults (18 to 24 years old) increased dramatically in
the late 1980s while the rates for older age groups declined
(Figure 4).
* From 1980 to 2008, young adults (18 to 24 years old) have
consistently had the highest offending rate. This rate nearly
doubled from 1985 to 1993, going from 22.1 offenders per
100,000 young adults to 43.1 offenders per 100,000.
* Since 1993, the offending rate for 18 to 24 year-olds has
declined to 24.6 offenders per 100,000 in 2008.
* The offending rate for teens (14 to 17 years old) increased
substantially from 10.4 offenders per 100,000 in 1985 to 30.7
offenders per 100,000 by 1993. Aft er 1993, the rate fell so
much that by 2000, the offending rate for teens was near its
1985 level, at 9.5 offenders per 100,000.
* The offending rates for adults ages 35 to 49 and 50 or
older have remained relatively stable since 2000, at between
4.8 and 5.1 offenders per 100,000 for adults age 35 to 49 and
between 1.3 and 1.5 offenders per 100,000 for adults age 50
or older.
After many years of decline, the average age of both victims
and offenders has leveled off
The average age of--
* victims fell from 34.1 years in 1980 to 31.3 years in 1994,
then increased to 32.7 years by 2008 (Figure 5)
* offenders fell from 29.6 years in 1980 to 26.4 years in
1994, then increased to 28.8 years in 2008
* both offenders and victims increased slightly in recent
years, yet remained lower than they were prior to the late
1980s.
The age distribution of homicide victims and offenders
differed by type of homicide
From 1980 to 2008
* A quarter of the victims (24%) of gang-related homicides
were under age 18. Juveniles were also a fifth (19%) of
persons killed by family members, and they represented more
than a quarter (28%) of persons killed by arson or by poison
(table 2).
* Victims age 50 or older were 39% of workplace homicide
victims and 34% of victims of homicide by poison.
Younger victims were more likely than older victims to know
the offender (Figure 6)
CHILDREN UNDER AGE 5
The homicide rate for children under age 5 has remained
stable or declined for all racial groups
* The number of homicides of children under age 5 declined
between 1993 and 2006, but increased in 2007 and 2008 (Figure
7).
Homicide rates for--
* black children under age 5 declined 36% between 1993 and
2008, dropping from 11.3 homicides per 100,000 in 1993 to 7.2
homicides per 100,000 in 2008 (Figure 8).
* black children under age 5 have remained substantially
higher than rates for white children or children of other
races.
* white children under age 5 remained relatively stable
between 1980 and 1990, with an average rate of 2.4 homicides
per 100,000. The rate rose to 2.8 homicides per 100,000 by
1996, then dropped down to 2.1 homicides per 100,000 in 2006.
Since 2006 the rate has risen slightly to 2.3 homicides per
100,000 in 2008.
In general, the younger the child, the greater the risk for
being the victim of a homicide (Figure 9)
* Throughout the 28-year period from 1980 to 2008, infants
under 1 year of age had the highest homicide victimization
rate of all children under age 5.
A parent was the perpetrator in the majority of homicides of
children under age 5 (Figure 10)
Of all children under age 5 murdered from 1980 through 2008--
* 63% were killed by a parent--33% were killed by their
fathers and 30% were killed by their mothers (table 3)
* 23% were killed by male acquaintances
* 5% were killed by female acquaintances
* 7% were killed by other relatives
* 3% were killed by strangers.
Of children under age 5 killed by someone other than their
parent, 80% were killed by males (not shown).
Most of the victims and offenders of homicides involving
children under age 5 were male
Since 1980, the number of homicides involving male children
under age 5 -
* killed by male offenders increased dramatically in the
early 1990s before dropping in 1997 (Figure 11)
* followed a similar pattern for female victims killed by
male offenders, although the changes were less pronounced.
For additional information on this topic, see the BJS
publication Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their
Victims (NCJ 153258, BJS Web, March 1996).
ELDERS AGE 65 OR OLDER
For the elderly (65 or older), both the number of homicides
and the homicide victimization rate declined from 1980 to
2000 and then stabilized
* About 5% of all homicide victims between 1980 and 2008 were
elderly.
* Between 1980 and 2008, males accounted for nearly 6 out of
10 homicide victims age 65 or older.
* Since 2000 the number of homicides involving elderly males
(age 65 or older) has increased slightly, while the number
involving elderly females has decreased (Figure 12).
* The homicide victimization and offending rates for persons
age 65 or older have been relatively stable since 2001,
ranging from a high of 2.1 victims and 0.8 offenders per
100,000 in 2003 to a low of 1.7
* victims and 0.6 offenders in 2007.
* In 2008, both victimization and offending rates for persons
age 65 or older remained low at 1.9 victims and 0.7 offenders
per 100,000 Figure 13).
Older homicide victims were more likely to have been killed
during a felony than younger victims (Figure 14)
Homicides committed during a felony were those that occurred
in conjunction with a serious crime, usually punishable by at
least one year in prison, such as rape, robbery, burglary, or
arson.
* Between 1980 and 2008, the percentage of homicides that
occurred during a felony was higher for elderly homicide
victims age 65 or older than for homicide victims of other
ages.
* Among murder victims ages 20 to 40, the percentage of
homicides committed during a felony was relatively stable,
ranging from 17.7% to 19.3% of all homicide victims in this
age group.
* Among murder victims age 40 or older, the proportion of
homicides committed during a felony began increasing,
accounting for 32.8% of homicides of 64-year-old victims and
40.3% of homicides of 76-year-old victims.
Trends by sex
Victimization rates for both males and females have been
relatively stable since 2000
* Males were nearly 4 times more likely than females to be
murdered in 2008 (Figure 15).
* The homicide victimization rate for both males and females
was at its highest in 1980­X16.1 homicides per 100,000 for
males and 4.5 homicides per 100,000 for females. By 2008, the
rates for both groups had fallen, reaching 8.5 homicides per
100,000 for males and 2.3 homicides per 100,000 for females.
Homicide offending rates for both males and females followed
the same general pattern as homicide victimization rates
* Males were 7 times more likely than females to commit
murder in 2008 (Figure 16).
* The offending rate for females has declined from 3.1
offenders per 100,000 in 1980 to 1.6 offenders per 100,000 in
2008.
* The offending rate for males peaked in 1991 at 20.8 per
100,000, then fell to a low of 11.3 per 100,000 in 2008.
The sex distribution of homicide victims and offenders
differed by type of homicide
From 1980 to 2008, among all homicide victims -
* Females were more likely than males to be the victim of
intimate killings (63.7%) and sex-related homicides (81.7%)
(table 5).
* Males were more likely to be involved in drug- (90.5%) and
gang-related homicides (94.6%).
The relationship between the victim and the offender differed
for female and male victims
* Female murder victims (41.5%) were almost 6 times more
likely than male murder victims (7.1%) to have been killed by
an intimate (table 6).
* More than half (56.4%) of male murder victims were killed
by an acquaintance; another quarter (25.5%) were murdered by
a stranger.
Trends by race
Blacks were disproportionately represented among homicide
victims and offenders
* In 2008, the homicide victimization rate for blacks (19.6
homicides per 100,000) was 6 times higher than the rate for
whites (3.3 homicides per 100,000).
* The victimization rate for blacks peaked in the early
1990s, reaching a high of 39.4 homicides per 100,000 in 1991
(Figure 17).
* After 1991, the victimization rate for blacks fell until
1999, when it stabilized near 20 homicides per 100,000.
* In 2008, the offending rate for blacks (24.7 offenders per
100,000) was 7 times higher than the rate for whites (3.4
offenders per 100,000) (Figure 18).
* The offending rate for blacks showed a similar pattern to
the victimization rate, peaking in the early 1990s at a high
of 51.1 offenders per 100,000 in 1991.
* After 1991, the offending rate for blacks declined until it
reached 24 per 100,000 in 2004. The rate has since
fluctuated, increasing to 28.4 offenders per 100,000 in 2006
before falling again to 24.7 offenders per 100,000 in 2008.
The race distribution of homicide victims and offenders
differed by type of homicide
From 1980 to 2008--
* Black victims were over-represented in homicides involving
drugs, with 62.1% of all drug-related homicides involving
black victims. By comparison, 36.9% of drug-related homicide
victims were white and 1% were victims of other races.
* Compared with the overall percentage of murder victims who
were black (47.4%), blacks were less likely to be victims of
sex-related homicides (30.4%), workplace killings (12.5%), or
homicides of elders age 65 or older (28.6%) (table 7).
* While two-thirds of drug-related homicides were committed
by black offenders (65.6%), black offenders were less likely
to be involved in sex-related killings (43.4%), workplace
homicides, (25.8%) or homicides of elders age 65 or older
(41.9%) compared to their overall involvement as homicide
offenders (52.5%).
Most murders were intra racial
From 1980 through 2008--
* 84% of white victims were killed by whites (Figure 19).
* 93% of black victims were killed by blacks.
Stranger homicides were more likely to cross racial lines
than homicides involving friends or acquaintances
For homicides committed by--
* a stranger to the victim, 26.7% were interracial (Figure
20a)
* a friend or acquaintance of the victim, 9.7% were
interracial (Figure 20b).
Trends by age, sex, and race
Patterns of victimization and offending varied by age, sex,
and racial group
* During the late 1990s, homicide victimization rates dropped
for all groups. In recent years, rates for most groups have
stabilized.
* In 2008, young adults (18 to 24 years old) had the highest
victimization rate in each racial and sex group.
* After increases in the early 1990s, the victimization rates
for both white and black male teens (14 to 17 years old)
peaked in 1993 at 9.4 homicides per 100,000 for whites and 79
homicides per 100,000 for blacks (Figures 21a and 21b).
* Since 1993, the victimization rates for both white and
black male teens (14 to 17 years old) have declined. By 2008,
the rates for both groups were similar to the rates in the
mid-1980s, at 4.5 homicides per 100,000 for whites and 31.4
homicides per 100,000 for blacks.
* In 2008, black males age 18 to 24 years-old had the highest
homicide victimization rate (91.1 homicides per 100,000).
That rate was more than double the rate for black males age
25 or older (38.4 homicides per 100,000) and almost triple
the rate for black males age 14 to 17 (31.4 homicides per
100,000).
* Among black males age 18 to 24, the homicide victimization
rate was much lower in 2008 (91.1 homicides per 100,000) than
in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when it reached a high of
195.9 homicides per 100,000 in 1993.
* For white females of all ages, homicide victimization rates
have declined. Among white women age 18 to 24, the rate
declined from 5.5 homicides per 100,000 in 1980 to 2.6 per
100,000 in 2008 (Figure 21c).
* Since 1993, the victimization rate for black females has
declined across all age groups. Girls age 14 to 17
experienced the largest victimization rate decline, dropping
from 13.1 homicides per100,000 in 1993 to 4.6 per 100,000 in
2008 (Figure 21d).
Homicide offending patterns were generally similar to
victimization patterns
* Young adults (18 to 24 years old) had the highest offending
rate in each racial and sex category.
* The offending rate for white male young adults (18 to 24
years old) was 20.4 offenders per 100,000 in 2007 and 2008,
which was an all-time low (Figure 22a).
* Between 1980 and 2008, young adult black males had the
highest homicide offending rate compared to offenders in
other racial and sex categories.
* The offending rate for black male teens peaked in 1993 at
246.9 offenders per 100,000 before declining. In recent
years, the black male teen offending rate has increased from
54.3 offenders per 100,000 in 2002 to 64.8 offenders per
100,000 in 2008.
The offending rate for black male young adults
* increased from 205.2 offenders per 100,000 in 1980 to a
high of 365.0 offenders per 100,000 in 1993
* dropped by more than half from 1993 to 2008, when it
reached an all-time low of 175.8 offenders per 100,000
* remained more than double the rate of black male teens
(64.8 offenders per 100,000) and 4 times the rate of black
males age 25 or older (37.8 offenders per 100,000) (Figure
22b).
Homicide offending rates among females show--
* White females of all ages had the lowest offending rates of
any racial or age groups (Figure 22c).
* The offending rates for black females of all ages has
declined since the early 1990s. Black female teens
experienced the largest decline in ending, dropping from 11
offenders per 100,000 in 1992 to 3 offenders per 100,000 in
2008 (Figure 22d).
Young males (14 to 24 years-old), particularly young black
males, were disproportionately involved in homicide
compared to their proportion of the population
* Since 2000, young white males have accounted for about 6%
of the population and about 10% of homicide victims. Their
proportion of offenders has declined slightly from 18% in
2000 to 16% by 2008 (Figure 23a).
* While young black males have accounted for about 1% of the
population from 1980 to 2008, they have made up an increasing
proportion of homicide victims, going from 9% of all homicide
victims in 1980 to 18% in 1994. Aft er 1994, their proportion
of homicide victims has remained relatively stable at about
16%.
* The percentage of young black male homicide offenders also
increased rapidly from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s,
going from 17% in 1985 to 35% by 1993 before declining. By
2008, young black males made up about a quarter of all
homicide offenders (27%) (Figure 23b).
Victim/offender relationship
Most homicides with known victim/offender relationships
involved people who knew each other
* Since the early 1990s, homicides for which the victim/
offender relationships were unknown constituted the largest
category of homicides (Figure 24).
* The proportion of homicides in which the victim/offender
relationships were unknown increased from 36% of all
homicides in 1980 to 44% in 2008.
Among homicides for which the victim/offender relationships
were known, 22% of victims were killed by strangers
* More than half (56%) of victims were acquaintances of the
assailant (table 8).
* Another 22% of victims were killed by a spouse or other
family member.
Homicides by a friend/acquaintance or a stranger were more
likely to involve a gun than those committed by an intimate
or family member (Figures 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d)
* Across the 28-year period, the percentage of homicides
committed by intimate partners that involved a gun declined
from 69% of all intimate homicides in 1980 to 51% in 2008, a
26% decline.
* Compared to homicides committed by intimates, friends/
acquaintances, or strangers, homicides committed by a
nonintimate family member were more likely to involve weapons
other than guns (such as knives, blunt objects, or personal
weapons).
* Among homicides for which the victim/offender relationships
were unknown, the percentage of homicides involving a gun
increased 33%, from 59% in 1980 to 78% in 2008 (Figure 25e).
Intimate homicide
Female victims were substantially more likely than male
victims to have been killed by an intimate
Among homicides with known victim/offender relationships--
* Nearly 1 out of 5 murder victims (16.3%) were killed by an
intimate (table 9).
* 2 out of 5 female murder victims were killed by an
intimate.
* The percentage of males killed by an intimate fell from
10.4% in1980 to 4.9% in 2008, a 53% drop. For females, the
percentage killed by an intimate increased 5% across the same
period(Figure 26).
* The percentage of females killed by an intimate declined
from 43% in 1980 to 38% in 1995. After 1995, that percentage
gradually increased, reaching 45% in 2008.
The proportion of black males killed by an intimate has
declined
Among homicides with known victim/offender relationships--
* The percentage of black male murder victims killed by an
intimate declined steadily from 13% in 1980 to a low of 5% in
2008 (Figure 27).
* The percentages of white males and black males killed by an
intimate have been relatively similar since 2002, at about 5%
for both groups.
* Intimate homicides of white women fluctuated slightly
between 1980 and 2008, averaging 44% of all white female
homicides across that period.
* Intimate homicides of black women decreased from 43% of all
black female homicides in 1980 to a low of 33% in 1995. After
1995, that percentage increased to 43% of all homicides of
black females in 2008.
The proportion of intimate homicides by a spouse has
decreased since 1980, while the proportion committed by a
boyfriend or girlfriend has increased (Figure 28)
* In 1980, the majority (69.1%) of all intimate homicides
were committed by a spouse while a quarter of intimate
homicides were committed by a boyfriend or girlfriend
(26.8%).
* After 1980, the proportion of intimate homicides involving
a spouse began decreasing while those involving a boyfriend
or girlfriend began increasing.
* By 2008, the proportion of intimate homicides committed by
a spouse (46.7%) was nearly equal to the proportion committed
by a boyfriend or girlfriend (48.6%).
The proportion of male and female intimate homicide victims
killed with guns has decreased (Figures 29a and 29b)
* In 1980, the majority (68.9%) of male intimate homicide
victims were killed with guns and a third (30.5%) were killed
with other weapons (knives, blunt objects, or personal
weapons).
* After 1980, the proportion of male intimate homicide
victims killed with guns gradually declined while the
proportion killed with other weapons increased. Since 2000,
guns have been less prevalent than other weapons in intimate
homicides against male victims.
* By 2008, a higher proportion of male intimate homicide
victims were killed with weapons other than guns (54.6%) than
with guns (41.9%).
* Female intimate homicide victims showed a similar pattern.
In 1980, two-thirds were killed by guns (69.5%) and less than
a third were killed with other weapons (28.9%).
* After 1980, the proportion of female intimate homicide
victims killed by guns decreased while the proportion killed
by other weapons increased, although guns were still the most
prevalent weapon used by intimate offenders against female
victims.
* In 2008, 53% of all female intimate homicide victims were
killed with guns while 41% were killed with other weapons.
Guns were the most frequently used type of weapon in
intimate homicides, but weapon type varied by relationship
From 1980 through 2008--
* Overall, over two-thirds of victims murdered by a spouse or
ex-spouse were killed by guns (table 11).
* Boyfriends were more likely to be killed by knives than any
other group of intimates.
* Girlfriends were more likely to be killed by force than any
other group of intimates.
Family homicide
Family homicides most often involved spouses or ex-spouses
* Homicides by a spouse or ex-spouse were an increasingly
smaller proportion of all family homicides from 1980 through
2008. In 1980, they made up half (52%) of all family
homicides. By 2008, they accounted for just over a third
(37%) (Figure 30).
* Children killed by their parents were the second most
frequent type of family homicide. These homicides increased
from 15% of all family homicides in 1980 to 25% of all family
homicides in 2008.
* Parents killed by one of their children have been an
increasing proportion of family homicides, rising steadily
from 9.7% of all family homicides in 1980 to 13% in 2008.
The proportion of family homicides that involved a spouse has
decreased for both blacks and whites
* Murders of children by a parent accounted for an increasing
percentage of family homicides, regardless of race.
* In 1980, 16.1% of white family homicides and 13.4% of black
family homicides involved a parent who murdered a child.
* By 2008, 23.5% of white family homicides and 30% of black
family homicides involved a child killed by a parent (Figures
31a and 31b).
Fathers were more likely than mothers to be killed by their
children
* Teenage sons (16 to 19 years-old) were most often the
perpetrators in parental killings (Figures 32a and 32b).
Brothers were more likely than sisters to be killed by a
sibling
* About half of brothers who killed their own brother were
between 16 and 30 years-old (Figure 33a). Relatively few
sisters killed their own brother.
* Sisters killed by a sibling were more likely to be murdered
by a brother than a sister (Figure 33b). A quarter of all
murders of sisters by a sibling were committed by a teenage
sibling between 13 and 18 years-old.
Law enforcement officers killed
The number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of
duty has declined since the early 1980s (Figure 34)
Information on the number of law enforcement officers killed
in the line of duty comes from the FBI's Law Enforcement
Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA). For these data, the
FBI reports circumstance information for the most recent 10
years of data.
* From 1980 to 2010, the number of reported law enforcement
officers killed in the line of duty dropped by 46%, from a
reported 104 law enforcement officers killed in 1980 to 56
reported law enforcement deaths in 2010.
Of the 541 officers killed from 2001 to 2010--
* 23% were in arrest situations
* 22% were in ambush situations
* 18% were making traffic pursuits/stops
* 14% were on disturbance calls
* 11% were investigating suspicious persons/circumstances
* 12% were in other situations.
Of the 587 assailants identified in the killing of law
enforcement officers from 2001 through 2010--
* 64% had a prior conviction
* 82% had a prior arrest for any type of crime; 43% had a
prior arrest for a crime of violence. Most law enforcement
officers were killed with rearms, particularly handguns
* The recent overall decline in murders of law enforcement
officers may be attributed to the decline in law enforcement
officers killed by a handgun (Figure 35).
Multiple victims and offenders
1 in 5 homicides in 2008 involved multiple offenders
* Homicides were more likely to involve multiple offenders
than multiple victims (figure 36).
* The proportion of all homicides committed by two or more
offenders increased from 11.3% of all homicides in 1980 to
a high of 20.7% of all homicides in 2006. In 2008, homicides
involving multiple offenders accounted for 19.8% of all
murders.
Most homicides involving multiple offenders were perpetrated
against a single victim
* Of all homicides from 1980 through 2008, 15% involved the
killing of a single victim by multiple offenders, and 1%
involved multiple offenders killing multiple victims (table
12).
The proportion of homicides involving two or more victims
has remained relatively stable at 4.5% since 2000
* The proportion of homicide incidents involving two victims
has increased slightly from 2.7% in 1980 to 3.7% in 2008
(figure 37).
* Homicide incidents involving three or more victims have
also increased during this same period, but have remained
less than 1% of all homicides each year.
In 2008, of all homicide incidents--
* 3.7% involved two victims
* 0.5% involved three victims
* 0.2% involved four victims
* 0.1% involved fi ve or more victims.
Older offenders were less likely than younger offenders to
be involved in multiple offender homicides (Figure 38)
The proportion of homicides involving multiple offenders
decreased with offender age:
* In 2008, of the homicides committed by offenders 14 to 17
years old, 37.5% involved multiple offenders.
* During this same period, slightly more than one-fourth
(27.5%)of the homicides committed by offenders 18 to 24
years-old involved multiple offenders while around
one-seventh (13.7%) of the homicides committed by offenders
age 25 or older involved multiple offenders.
Multiple victim homicides were more likely to involve guns
than single victim homicides (Figure 39)
* In 2008, three-quarters (77.2%) of multiple victim
homicides involved guns while two-thirds (65.7%) of single
victim homicides involved guns.
Circumstances
The mix of circumstances surrounding homicides has changed
over the last two decades
The number of homicides--
* for which the circumstances were unknown was greater in
2008 than any known category of circumstances (Figure 40)
* resulting from arguments declined by nearly half from
10,300 homicides in 1980 to 4,696 homicides in 2008, but as
of 2008 remained the most frequently cited circumstance of
the known circumstances
* that occurred during the commission of another felony, such
as a robbery or burglary, declined from about 5,300 homicides
in 1991 to 2,600 homicides in 2000, then stabilized
* involving adult or juvenile gang violence increased from
about 220 homicides in 1980 to 960 homicides in 2008. Gang
violence accounted for 1% of all homicides in 1980 and 6% of
all homicides in 2008.
The proportion of homicides involving guns differed by
circumstance
Gun involvement--
* in gang related homicides increased from 73% in 1980 to
92% in 2008 (Figure 41)
* in homicides that occurred during the commission of a
felony increased from 59% in 1980 to 74% in 2008
* in homicides resulting from arguments remained relatively
stable from 2000 through 2008; about 60% of homicides
resulting from arguments involved guns during this period.
Trends by weapon type
Homicides were most often committed with handguns
* Handgun-involved incidents increased sharply in the late
1980s and early 1990s before falling to a low in 2008.
* Homicides committed with guns other than handguns hit a low
point in 1999, but have increased since then.
* From 1980 through 2008, homicides involving weapons other
than fi rearms have declined slightly or remained steady
(Figure 42).
Homicides of teens and young adults were more likely to be
committed with a gun than homicides of persons of other ages
* The percentage of homicide victims killed with a gun
increased with age of the victim until age 17, where it
peaked at 79%, and declined thereafter (Figure 43).
Gun homicides by teens and young adults increased sharply
beginning in the mid-1980s and fell after the early 1990s
* The trend in homicides involving weapons other than guns
showed little change over this period, declining or
fluctuating slightly for all age groups (Figures 44a, 44b,
and 44c).
* Gun homicides by persons age 18 to 24 peaked at about 8,600
in 1993 then declined to about 5,300 in 2008. The number of
gun homicides in 2008 was still higher than the number of gun
homicides in the early and mid-1980s.
* Gun homicides involving adult offenders age 25 or older
declined from over 10,000 in 1980 to 4,660 in 1999, and
increased since then to 5,460 in 2008.
* The sharp increase in homicides from the mid-1980s through
the early 1990s, and much of the subsequent decline, is
attributable to gun violence by teens and young adults.
Trends by city size
Changes in homicide trends have been driven by changes in
the number of homicides in large American cities
From 1980 to 2008--
* Over half of homicides (57.7%) occurred in cities with a
population of 100,000 or more (Figure 45).
* More than a third of all homicides in large cities occurred
in the biggest cities (those with a population of 1 million
or more) (not shown).
In large cities of all sizes, the homicide victimization rate
has declined steadily since the early 1990s
The homicide victimization rate--
* in cities with a population of 1 million or more dropped
dramatically from 35.5 homicides per 100,000 U.S. residents
in 1991 to an all-time low of 11.9 homicides per 100,000 U.S.
residents in 2008 (Figure 46)
* in cities with a population of 100,000 to 249,999 was the
lowest among large cities, ranging from a high of 15.0
homicides per 100,000 in 1994 to a low of 8.8 homicides per
100,000 in 2008.
As with the victimization rate in large cities, the homicide
offending rate has also declined since the early 1990s
The homicide offending rate in cities with a population of--
* 1 million or more dropped from 45 offenders per 100,000
U.S. residents in 1991 to an all-time low of 12 offenders per
100,000 U.S. residents in 2008 (Figure 47)
* 500,000 to 999,999 increased between 2004 (14.5 offenders
per 100,000) and 2008 (17.8 offenders per 100,000), but
remained below the offending rates from the late 1980s and
early 1990s, which averaged around 22 offenders per 100,000.
Certain homicide types varied by city size
From 1980 to 2008--
* the majority of all drug-related (67.4%) and gang-related
(69.6%) killings took place in large cities (table 13)
* relatively fewer family (44.8%) or workplace (30.8%)
homicides occurred in large cities compared to the overall
percentage of homicides in large cities (57.7%).
The proportion of intimate homicides differed by place and
city size
Since the mid-1980s, the percentage of homicides committed by
an intimate (spouses, ex-spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends,
and same-sex relationships) was larger in rural areas than in
suburban or urban areas (Figure 48).
Homicides for which the offender was known to be an intimate
have declined in cities of all sizes and types. From 1980
through 2008, the number of known intimate murders--
* in large cities fell by more than half (52%) from about
1,150 homicides in 1980 to 550 homicides in 2008, while the
number of known nonintimate murders dropped approximately 40%
from an estimated 6,145 homicides to 3,662 homicides.
* in small cities dropped by 43% from 500 homicides in 1980
to 290 homicides in 2008, while the number of known
nonintimate homicides dropped by a third (35%) from 1,900
homicides in 1980 to 1,250 homicides in 2008
* in suburban areas declined by 26% from 670 homicides in
1980 to 490 homicides in 2008, while known nonintimate
homicides declined by 15% from 2,460 homicides in 1980 to
2,090 homicides in 2008
* in rural areas dropped by 50% from 390 homicides in 1980 to
200 homicides in 2008, while known nonintimate homicides
dropped by 63% from 1,570 homicides in 1980 to 580 homicides
in 2008.
Clearances
The percentage of homicides cleared by arrest or other
exceptional means has declined
* In 2008, 64% of all homicides were cleared, compared to 72%
in 1980 (Figure 49).
* Homicide has the highest clearance rate of all serious
crimes.
Police were more likely to identify a suspect when the victim
was a child (Figure 50)
* A suspect was most likely to be identified when the victim
was a child under age 5 (89%).
* The percentage of homicides in which a suspect was
identified dropped sharply after age 5, declining to 63.5% of
homicides for victims age 20. After age 20, the percentage of
homicides in which an offender was identified remained
relatively stable.
Justifiable homicides
The number of justifiable homicides declined through 2000 and
has seen slight increases since then
* The number of justifiable homicides of felons committed by
police exceeded the number committed by citizens (Figure 51).
* In the last 10 years, the number of justifiable homicides
has increased by 25.4% from 500 in 1999 to 630 in 2008.
The circumstances surrounding justifiable homicides differed
for those committed by police than those committed by
citizens
* Most justifiable homicides by police were the result of
attacks on officers, accounting for 64% of justifiable
homicides by police in 2008 (Figure 52a).
* The most frequent circumstances cited for justifiable
homicides by citizens were the disruption a crime in progress
(55% of justifiable homicides by a citizen in 2008) or when a
citizen was attacked (41% of justifiable homicides by a
citizen in 2008) (Figure 52b).
Most justifiable homicides were intraracial
* In incidents involving citizens, three-quarters involved
citizens and felons of the same race (table 14).
* In incidents involving police, two-thirds involved police
officers and felons of the same race.
Additional information about the data
Data Sources
The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program
Launched over 70 years ago, the UCR program collects and
publishes criminal offense, arrest, and law enforcement
personnel statistics. Under the UCR program, law enforcement
agencies submit information to the FBI monthly. Offense
information is collected on the eight Part I offenses:
homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault,
burglary, larceny-theft , motor vehicle theft , and arson.
Information on the number of persons arrested includes many
additional crime types, such as drug abuse violations and
driving under the influence. The FBI annually publishes data
from the UCR in Crime in the United States, available online
at: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr#ucr_cius. The
UCR is one of two major national indicators about crime. For
more information about these two indicators, see The
Nation's Two Crime Measures (NCJ 122705, BJS Web, October
2004).
The UCR program collects data on only those crimes that
come to the attention of law enforcement through victim
reports or observation. Of all the crimes included in the
UCR, homicide is the most completely reported. Homicide
counts suff er from a minimal level of underreporting. In
addition, the number of crimes for which law enforcement
makes an arrest or clears the offense is the highest for
homicide compared to the other serious offenses collected
by the UCR. Other offenses, including forcible rape,
robbery, and aggravated assault, are currently available
only in summary count form without details about the
incident, victims, or offenders. Homicide information
through the Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR)
data is available in incident form.
FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR)
Most of the data used here are from the SHR, which is a part
of the UCR Program. Supplemental data about homicide
incidents are submitted monthly with details on location,
victim, and offender characteristics. These reports include
information on the reporting agency and its residential
population, county and Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
codes, geographic division, and population group; on the
age, race, and sex of victims and offenders; and on the
victim/offender relationship, weapon use, and circumstance
of the crime. From 1980 to 2008, contributing agencies
provided supplemental data for 508,568 of the estimated
565,636 murders.
Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEKOA)
Also a part of the FBI's UCR Program, the Law Enforcement
Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEKOA) utilizes data from
several sources, including the UCR. Once notified of a
line-of-duty death, the FBI contacts the employing agency to
obtain additional details. LEKOA includes data about federal,
state, and local law enforcement officers who were killed
feloniously or accidentally or who were assaulted. An annual
report is published by the FBI, available online at:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr#ucr_leoka.
Methodology
Homicide as defined here includes murder and
nonnegligent manslaughter, which is the willful killing
of one human being by another. The general analyses
excluded deaths caused by negligence, suicide, or
accident; justifiable homicides; and attempts to murder.
Justifiable homicides based on the reports of law
enforcement agencies are analyzed separately. Deaths
from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, are not
included in any of the analyses. These homicide data are
based solely on police investigation, as opposed to the
determination of a court, medical examiner, coroner,
jury, or other judicial body.
Not all agencies that report offense information to the
FBI also submit supplemental data on homicides. About
91% of homicides reported in the UCR are included in
the SHR. To account for the total number of homicides,
this analysis weighted the total number of homicide
victims included in the SHR data to match national and
state estimates of the total number of homicide victims
prepared by the FBI. All victim-based analyses are
adjusted in this manner.
While many agencies report supplemental data on
homicides, much of the data concerning offenders may
not be reported because no suspects were identified or
the agency chose not to report the information. The most
significant problem in using SHR data to analyze offender
characteristics is the sizable and growing number
of homicides in the data file for which no offender
information is reported. Ignoring these homicides with
no offender information would understate calculated
rates of offending by particular subgroups of the
population, distort trends over time among these same
subgroups, and bias observed patterns of offending to the
extent that the rate of missing offender data is associated
with offender characteristics.
To adjust for homicides with no offender information,
a method for offender imputation was devised that uses
available information about murder victims for which
corresponding offender information was provided as well
as those with missing offender information. Th rough this
imputation algorithm, the demographic characteristics
of unidentified offenders were inferred on the basis of
similar homicide cases similar in terms of the victim's
demographic profile, circumstances of the homicide such
as felony or argument, location of the homicide (region
and urban), gun involvement, and year of the offense
for which offender data were provided. In other words,
unknown offender profiles were estimated based on the
offender profiles in offender-known cases, matched on
victim age, sex, and race; circumstances of the homicide;
location of the homicide; gun involvement; and year.
Offender-based estimates in this report were imputed
using this procedure. Other estimates in this report
were based on homicides with known attributes, unless
otherwise indicated.
An estimated 30.8% of homicides involved an unknown
number of offenders. For these homicides, the offender
imputation method conservatively assumed the number
of offenders to be one, likely resulting in an undercount
of the number of homicides involving multiple offenders.
All rates were calculated using the estimated number
of homicide victims or offenders as the numerator and
dividing by the U.S. resident population estimates for
the appropriate groups or subgroups. This report used
bridged-race population estimates developed by the
National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census
Bureau. All rates were per 100,000 U.S. residents unless
otherwise specified.
Homicide victim/offender relationships were calculated
based on the attributes of the first offender in the incident
record for which the relationship was known. Other
estimates in this report were based on homicides with
known attributes, unless otherwise indicated. The National
Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) provided the data
file analyzed in this report. The NACJD is available online
at: www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACJD.
To analyze these data online, please visit the NACJD Data
Analysis System at: www.icpsr.umich.edu.
Related references
U.S. Census Bureau and National Center for Health Statistics.
(2010). Postcensal Estimates of the Resident Population of
the United States for July 1, 2000-July 1, 2009, by Year,
County, Age, Bridged Race, Hispanic Origin, and Sex (Vintage
2009) [Data fi le]. Retrieved from
www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/bridged_race.htm
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
(1999). Bridging Gaps in Police Crime Data (NCJ 176365).
Retrieved from BJS website:
www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=405
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
(1996). Child Victimizers: Violent O enders and Their
Victims (NCJ 153258). Retrieved from BJS website:
www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=552
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
(2001). Policing and Homicide, 1976-98: Justifiable
Homicide of Felons by Police and Murder of Police by
Felons (NCJ 180987). Retrieved from BJS website:
www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=829
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
(1997). Trends in Juvenile Violence (NCJ 170379 &
170377). Retrieved from BJS website:
www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=1100
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Uniform Crime Reports [Data file].
Retrieved from FBI website:
www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Uniform Crime Reports Data Tool[Data tool].
Retrieved from www.ucrdatatool.gov
U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
(1997). A Study of Homicide in Eight U.S. Cities
(NCJ 167263). Retrieved from NIJ website:
www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/167263.pdf
University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research.
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data [Data file].
Retrieved from www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACJD
University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research.
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data Analysis System
[Data tool]. Retrieved from www.icpsr.umich.edu
**********************************************************
Office of Justice Programs * Innovation * Partnerships *
Safer Neighborhoods * http://www.ojp.gov
The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of
the U.S. Department of Justice. James P. Lynch is the
director.
This report was written by Alexia Cooper and Erica L. Smith.
Ron Malega and Kyle Harbacek provided statistical review and
verification of the report.
Morgan Young and Jill Thomas edited the report, Barbara Quinn
and Tina Dorsey produced the report, and Jayne E. Robinson
prepared the report for final printing under the supervision
of Doris J. James.
November 2011, NCJ 236018
This report in PDF and in ASCII and its related statistical
data and tables are available at the BJS website:
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=2221
**********************************************************
11/8/2011 / JER / 9:30am